Indians: Portrait of a People

In this bold, illuminating and superbly readable study, India�s foremost psychoanalyst and cultural commentator Sudhir Kakar and anthropologist Katharina Kakar investigate the nature of �Indian-ness�. What makes an Indian recognizably so to the rest of the world, and, more importantly, to his or her fellow Indians? For, as the authors point out, despite ethnic differences that are characteristic more of past empires than modern nation states, there is an underlying unity in the great diversity of India that needs to be recognized.

Looking at what constitutes a common Indian identity, the authors examine in detail the predominance of family, community and caste in our everyday lives, our attitudes to sex and marriage, our prejudices, our ideas of the other (explored in a brilliant chapter on Hindu-Muslim conflict), and our understanding of health, right and wrong, and death. In the final chapter, they provide fascinating insights into the Indian mind, shaped largely by the culture�s dominant, Hindu world view.

Drawing upon three decades of original research and sources as varied as the Mahabharata, the Kamasutra, the writings of Mahatma Gandhi, Bollywood movies and popular folklore, Sudhir and Katharina Kakar have produced a rich and revealing portrait of the Indian people.

This book was added to South Asia bookstore on Tuesday 08 February, 2011.

South Asia Books is representing most of the major Indian publishers, including Motilal, DK, Manohar, Abhinav, Vikas, Eastern Book Linkers, Rawat, and Satguru. Orders can be done from throughout the World.

South Asia Books, located at Columbia, Missouri - mid-way between St Louis and Kansas City, USA, has since its start in 1969 evolved from a supplier of rare volumes from India and Pakistan to the major supplier for India related monographs for bookstores, wholesalers, libraries, and individuals.
South Asia Books is known to be the best collection of books on South Asia available outside of the region itself! Its stock includes thousands of titles available for sale, plus thousands of other used and single title books, including a large selection of art history and language related texts.
South Asia Books adds approximately 1,000 new titles annually, representing most of the major Indian publishers, including Motilal, DK, Manohar, Abhinav, Vikas, Eastern Book Linkers, Rawat, and Satguru. Orders can be done from throughout the World.